Ericke Tjiueza | In Wonderland

Namibian art director and photographer Ericke Tjiueza newest series with Kevin Perestrelo entitled In Wonderland celebrates Africanism, bringing credence to the special relationship that Africa has with art of all forms; including texture, colour and light.

In Wonderland sees the enchanting muse Lino Simāo adorned in a azure gown with a delicately woven neckline with a daring décolletage coupled with a sky-tone ball gown silhouette, as she perches on tree branches in the African forest. Her hair is intricately decorated with a sky-tone wheel perpetuating the timeless and enduring mysticism of Africa.

“In Africa, art is so functional that it becomes easy to overlook its existence. Our jewellery, our cloth, our hair and our languages all have a powerful relationship with art.”, Tjiueza told Ocean Africa. “And it is because of the way that we consume art that we’ve been made to feel as though we bring less ingenuity to the table than the rest of the world. In Africa art is manifested out of necessity, which is why it is so practical and so functional. Whereas in the Western World art is consumed differently – from a much more idealistic place. It is on walls and in exclusive buildings for people to study and write about.”

“The world uses one standard benchmark for determining what art is. And for a long time African Art has been limited to the “crafts” categorisation. However what we’re seeing from African Millennials is this concept of “Afrofuturism” which is really just us creating room in the world for our art. How we dress and how we speak.” Tjiueza added. “The images we created with Lino Simao is our attempt at highlighting African Hair Design through storytelling that feels authentic to Namibian Millennials.”

View more from In Wonderland below:

Art Direction and Photography: Ericke Tjiueza & Kevin Perestrelo

Muse: Lino Simao

Hair Design: Aino Orvoki Makwa

Makeup: Gina Jemwa 

Dress by: Aina Etu Shigwedha

Creative Agency: New Luxury

Erick Tjiueza resides in Namibia. Visit his Instagram for more exciting works.